I will be at The Waxahachie Junior Service League’s Christmas Market on Saturday, December 3rd, between the hours of 10 am and 2 pm. Christmas Market will be held at the Waxahachie Civic Center and admission is $5 and kids 10 and under are free. This will be a charitable event benefiting  The Women’s Resource Center.  We are asking for EITHER a Baby Blanket OR a $10 cash donation per child. In return you will receive a complimentary 5×7 per donation.  Photos will be available for pick up here at the studio on Tuesday, December 13th and Thursday, December 15th, between the times of 5:00-6:30. At pickup we will be offering packages at significantly reduced prices. We have a great Santa shown in the photos above who is THE BEST with kids. Please stop by and get your photos with Santa and take care of a cold baby this winter too!

No appointments necessary, this is a first come, first serve event.

Be Good!

Each year we try and come up with a theme for my daughter and the twins for Boo @ Marie Q.  It is always a last minute decision.  Always a scramble to find what we need. And always a race to the printers.  So this year we decided to try and make “American Gothic” our own.  After all, we have twin boys we need to incorporate. In a few years I may have to adopt honorary studio children.  The bribes are becoming more elaborate, the shoots are becoming shorter, and we’d probably be nicer to other children than our own. I’m already stressing about what we’ll do next year.

Details about Boo @ Marie Q

When: Monday, October 31st 2:30-5:00 PM during Trick or Treat on the Square

Where: Marie Q Photography- 213 S. College St Waxahachie, TX 75165 – 972.937.9511

Why: Benefiting Local Charities Waxahachie Care and The Light of Gabriel Foundation

What: Bring your child/ children in costume along with two canned goods and $5 cash donation per child and receive a complimentary 5×7 (to be picked up on November 9th or 10th).

See you there – Be Good!

It was August 17th last year.  A day like any other,  I was spending that day out at the water park with my daughter and her friend.  As fate would have it, my daughter and friend couldn’t agree on what to do at the park and became frustrated and just called it a day.  When we arrived back to the house, messages were waiting for me.  My friend Amy had lost her baby in her final month of pregnancy.  That sucker punch feeling filled my stomach.  I belong to a group of volunteer photographers called Now I lay me Down to Sleep and you can read about them here.  My husband and I went to the hospital to photograph little Angel Gabriel that night.  It’s the hardest thing I have ever had to do with my husband, and its the hardest Now I lay me Down to Sleep session I have had to date.  So hard, because it was personal.  Every family who has to endure the pain of losing a child now what the Hollingsworths went through.  But from that pain emerged The Light of Gabriel Foundation.  I was so proud of Amy. She was doing something to help others in her situation.  I wanted to do something to help her start up charitable organization so together we organized Boo @ Marie Q.

DETAILS:

Boo @ Marie Q will be held today from 2:30-5:00 (Friday, October 29th).  We will be photographing kids in costumes for a $5 cash donation to the Light of Gabriel and two canned goods for Waxahachie Care per child.  You will receive a complimentary 5×7 per child and they will be available for pick up on November 11th and November 12th from 5:00 – 6:30 PM. Packages  will be available at discounted rates starting at $20 with a percentage of proceeds going to The Light of Gabriel.

At 5:00 pm today we will tell the last person in line that they are the end of the line and no other will be taken after that time.  Anyone who is in line at 5:00 will be photographed.

Call me today at the studio if you have any other questions.  We will not be answering the phone during event hours.

Hope to see you!

How it works…. the event is first come first serve and last year we had people camping out to be the first in line.  A $5 cash donation and two canned goods per child will be collected at the door (of course if you want to donate more you can).  I’ll be taking the photographs of the kids and displaying the photos on a computer screen.  You’ll make the selection and we will write it down and place the order for you.  We’ll have other packages available at special event prices.  Photographs will be available for pick up two weeks after , November 11th and 12th from 5:00 – 6:30.  If you didn’t pick up your photos from last years event, I still have some here at the studio.

We had fun taking the photos for the promo pieces yesterday.  I’ve never considered myself to have a darkside.   After viewing what came out of the session I have to say that I must have some darkness buried deep within. The kids did a fantastic job.  I think my daughter considered it her acting debut. My husband and I laughed and laughed at her video segments.  She took it very seriously.

I’ll be sending out a newsletter to my current clients for special VIP times for the event this week.  Be on the lookout for information in your email boxes this week.

Be Good! And don’t forget to watch the spooky video and check out how awesome the kids did.

I have.

STONED, dirty and asking for money.

She walked into my studio, sat down and asked me, “DO YOU REMEMBER ME?”

Do you remember ever feeling really PROUD of yourself?

Do you BELIEVE in second chances?

As she was leaving today, she dropped her wallet,  an old beat up men’s black leather wallet.  The contents of it spilled out on my studio floor.  I helped her pick things up and she says, “This was my father’s wallet.  It is the only piece I have of him to remember him by.  I have been blessed with the gift of a wallet from the lady at Pete and Re-Pete down the street.”

Kitonya has received many blessings.  Clothes from the Briarpatch, a wallet from Pete and Re-Pete, and a photographic session that I know of. I am sure she has received many more that I am unaware of.  She taught me a lesson in pride and humility today.  Do you believe in second chances?

Be Good!

Boo! at Marie Q is scheduled in conjunction with Trick or Treat on the Square in Downtown Waxahachie.  The date is set for Friday, October 29th  from 2 pm to 5 pm.  Like last year you will receive a complimentary 5×7 with your $5 cash donation AND two canned goods per child.  Cash donations are going to The Light of Gabriel Foundation.  You can read about the Light of Gabriel Foundation here.

We have cleared out the calendar for Fall Mini Sessions.  We are taking the furniture and fun stuff outdoors for two days of family and kids photography.  The mini session is a short 15-20 minute session out at the park and comes with one pack of Holiday Cards.  We’ll have 10 Card backgrounds for you to choose from.  Custom cards will be an additional $35.  Mini-Sessions will be on Saturday and Sunday, October 2nd and 3rd (Rain out make-up dates will be November 13th and 14th).  We only have a few hours allotted each day so call early and make your appointments.  I’ll be sending out a quick newsletter to all my clients with the details as well. The cost of the mini session will be $99 + tax for the session and one pack of cards (24) and as usual, it will be due at the time of booking.  The studio number is 972-937-9511.

Be Good!

The open studio will be held in conjunction with Discover Downtown Waxahachie.  Downtown is having a kind of Grand Re-Opening.  The city is unveiling a new parking garage and municipal courts. The rest of the Merchants are celebrating by having sales, entertainment, a taste of Waxahachie, the first weekend of our Farmers Market, and a flea market/ rummage sale.  Make an afternoon of it. Spend the day in Downtown Waxahachie,  eat Good food, have good drinks, come say Hi to me!, go do some Antique Shopping, check out the Rogers Hotel and all its new retail spaces (come say Hi to me!), have some of my friend Terra’s awesome coffee at Zula’s (then come say Hi to me!).

You get the idea.  I hope to see all of you there.  Come see the new Downtown Waxahachie, Register to win a $100 Downtown Merchant Gift Card, have a professional photograph taken for your social media pages, and help by giving back to the community.

Be Good!

COME SAY HI TO ME ON SATURDAY

Packages will be available starting at $20 and special event pricing will be made available for purchase on that day only.  The $20 package will include 2 5×7′s and 8 wallets (all same image) or 4 -4×6 prints all of the same image (great for grandparents).  A portion of the proceeds will go to The Light of Gabriel Foundation (click on the link to find out more).  Read Amy’s Story here on the blog. Due to the nature of the event, we will not be offering refunds.

I am CRAZY excited about this event tomorrow.  I hope to see you all here.  With a little luck and a lot of help, I hope to make this a yearly tradition.  I am blessed to do something that I LOVE.  Thank you for letting me share this with you

Be Good!

It’s official and I’m announcing it! 

Our First Annual Boo! at Marie Q Halloween Fundraiser benefiting local charities, Waxahachie Care and The Light of Gabriel Foundation.

On Friday, October 30th, during Waxahachie’s Trick or Treat on the Square (2:30-5:00pm)  I will be photographing children in costumes at the studio.  Bring 2 canned goods or a $5 donation per child and I will photograph your little one – spooky or cute.  A complimentary 5×7 print will be available for pick up on Friday , November 13th from 5pm- 7 pm and Saturday,  November 14th from 12 – 2 pm. If you are unavailable to pick up at those times a shipping option will be available for $5. Packages will be offered at greatly reduced prices starting at $20.  A portion of the proceeds will benefit The Light of Gabriel Foundation.

For two years on Halloween I have stood at the studio door handing out candy wishing I could do more.  Help make this something we can do every year!  Tell your friends…Be There or Be Square

Boo! at Marie Q

**please note that the date has changed from what was originally posted due a change in the Trick or Treat on Square Date.  The event date will be Friday, October 30th.**

I’m going to warn you in advance.  What you are about to read is emotional and real and it is the story of Amy’s grief and journey through my eyes written with permission from Amy.  

It was a Monday, the last Monday before school started for my daughter, and we were at Hawaiian Falls for one last hoorah on my day off.  It was unusual because the kids were arguing and no one was happy being there – so we came home early.  I call my daughters friend’s mom and she asks me if my husband has spoken to me… have I heard what has happened???  I knew the news was bad.  Amy, in her final month of pregnancy, had lost her baby.  Gone and without explanation or reason.  My body filled with chills and I sat in the window sill of my dining room feeling like I had been sucker punched and about to get ill.  If this is how I felt, multiply that by the largest number you can fathom times eternity and you have a fraction of the pain Amy felt that day. I spoke with my husband and he said I needed to go to the hospital to photograph the baby.  I volunteer for a non-profit charitable organization Now I lay me Down to Sleep, a group that provides bereavement photography for families experiencing the loss of babies who earned their wings and became angels.  I have done this before, just not for someone I call a friend.

I changed. Dropped the kids off with my friend. Grabbed my camera and went to the hospital.  I photographed Amy and Brad’s Angel Gabriel in a tiny recovery room while the entire room grieved.  If it’s possible, I think even the walls were crying.  My husband went with me to assist.  Not a dry eye in the room. I photographed the baby, the baby and his dad and when Amy said, “I just want to hold my baby” the session ended.  I may have taken all of five minutes worth of photos. It seems like I was there for an eternity.  I went home and edited all of her pictures that night, made a slideshow, packaged it up and delivered it the next day.  I stayed in the room the first time Amy viewed her pictures and wept.  It was a deep raw pain.  With the support of her husband and family she somehow made it through those very dark days.  

In making the arrangements to bury her Angel, Amy recognized a need.  There was nothing available locally to help with the costs of a burial, both the emotional and financial costs of losing a baby.  Did you know if you can’t afford to bury your baby, they cremate the baby and sprinkle the ashes at the butterfly garden at the cemetery?  Amy knew this provided no closure for a grieving family.  Amy has amazingly taken her pain and given it direction in her journey.  She created a foundation to help assist grieving families experiencing loss such as hers with emotional and financial support. The non-profit organization is called The Light of Gabriel Foundation .  Amy has done all the leg work in getting this foundation off the ground and running in a matter of days.  Click on the link, and it will take you to her foundation’s website.  To help raise money for her foundation, The Light of Gabriel Foundation has teamed up with Goodsearch.com. Instructions are below on how to access the site, enter the foundations name and have a percentage of your online purchases help raise money for the cause. Of course you can always donate directly to the foundation at The Light of Gabriel Foundation’s website.  I am very proud of Amy for taking a devastating tragedy and finding inspiration to help others.  You’ll be reading more about her in the days to come.  I see that picture above and I see a Mommy holding her baby, grieving a terrible loss, and staying true to her journey.

• Click HERE to be taken to the GoodSearch/GoodShop website
• Enter The Light of Gabriel Foundation in the charity search and click verify
• Once the Foundation is verified – all searches or purchases you make will benefit our cause